The capacity of U.S. coal mines has fallen 28% since its 2009 peak

Doal

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Annual Coal Report (ACR) shows that U.S. coal mining productive capacity, or the maximum amount of coal that mines can produce in a year, totaled 1,009 million short tons (MMst) in 2019. This amount represents a 28% decrease from the peak productive coal mine capacity of 1,407 MMst reported in 2009. U.S. coal production declined by 35% during the same period because many coal mines closed and the remaining mines produced less coal.